Google's Project Sunroof arrives in UK

Google has launched an online tool in the UK that informs households how well a rooftop solar array would perform and how much money could be saved on electricity bills as a result.

Google announced that it has launched a UK version in partnership with energy supplier E.ON

The tech firm’s Project Sunroof was first launched in the US in 2015, before rolling out in Germany two years later. The tool analyses factors like roof orientation, shading from the nearby environment and local weather patterns to determine how much solar energy could be generated by a rooftop photovoltaic system.

Combining this data, sourced from Google Earth and 3D modelling, the tool then uses machine learning technology to assess the solar potential of an individual roof, as well as how much a household could save on a typical electricity bill as a result.

Google announced earlier this week that it has launched a UK version in partnership with energy supplier E.ON.

While Google will analyse the potential of solar arrays, households will still need the capital to install them. In September, a £1bn programme was launched by the UK Government to ensure that more than 800,000 low-income UK households will have access to cheap solar electricity in the next five years.

Google Maps released air quality information for Oakland, California. Data was collected using street view cars equipped with sensors developed by environmental sensor producers Aclima. The sensors record levels of pollutants emitted from cars, such as nitrogen dioxide and black carbon, so that non-profits and residents can identify areas where air quality could be improved, either by choosing a different route to work, or using other means of transport.